Happy Birthday April!

I know that reading about one little girl over and over again might get boring to people who don't know her. I have been posting about April a lot lately; about her progress and her challenges as I have been trying to hit the 100% mark for the Ayah Project. We are so close to hitting it, so I will pause the posts on the SCH kids for a little while (although, not for too long...stay tuned for some exciting news!!). That said, I wanted to finish up my posts on the Ayah Project with a Happy Birthday post for April.

Many of you already know April's story. For those who don't, below is a brief overview of how she got to where she is now:

April was born with no eyes and was abandoned by her birth family. Due to this, no one knows her exact day of birth. The government orphanage she grew up in, before coming to SCH at age 4, chose a birthdate for her for the purpose of files and paperwork. They didn't celebrate her birthday with her, so it held no other purpose than to fill a space on papers. April arrived at SCH when she was 4 years old, 6 weeks before her 5th birthday. She couldn't stand on her own, she was covered in lice and scared of human touch. She was malnourished, pale, and spent her life curled in fetal position on the floor.


Now, April receives physical therapy. She has an ayah, Nagendram, who is devoted to her emotional and physical health. She is well-nourished and building up her muscles. When I worked with her for a month in 2010 (age 5) she wouldn't bear any weight at all. I would hold her up right under the armpits and the physiotherapist showed me how to get her to start bearing weight. She would pitch a fit; screaming, crying, scratching her chest and arms. She was terrified. A year ago, she not only began weight bearing but stood with a walker and started taking slow steps:


When I first started working with April, she was still getting familiar with her new SCH home. I began spending most of my days with her; doing water therapy in the kiddie pool, feeding her, lying with her, shadowing her physiotherapist, listening to music (she LOVES music). The best moment of my trip was the first time April let me hold her. We sat for fifteen minutes, snuggled together, and for the first time she embraced human touch and allowed someone to love her. She had never done that before. She would tolerate people feeding her, carrying her for short lengths of time if needed (ie to bring her from her bedroom to the therapy room- although she squirmed and yelled the whole way), etc. but she never embraced it. Here we are the day she began to let me love her. Days after, she began to show interest in me. She slowly used her fingers to feel my hands, touching each of my fingers and my fingernails slowly, as if for the first time trying to understand who these people are who take care of her.

I spent my month trying to figure out what makes April smile. She loves to be tickled. She has the most hilarious little snorting laugh. (this is my favourite video of my entire life)


She loves music, especially when headphones are right up to her ears. She "sings" and dances, rocking back and forth.


She is JOYFUL when she is in water. As often as I could (when there was enough water) I would fill up the kiddie pool and put her in the sun to swim. She is free in the water. She is calm and peaceful. She has spent so much of her life inside, so she tilts her head towards the sun and smiles as if experiencing it for the first time, over and over again.


February 13th is April's birthday. This Sunday, as I go to sleep, April will be waking up and will be turning 7 years old. Although it probably isn't the exact day she was born, April deserves to be celebrated. Last year, she was dressed up and was supported in cutting a cake. She is not less worthy than any other child, just because of her needs. February 13th is the day to celebrate how special and wonderful and beautiful and smart April is.


I pray every single day that this next year is one of success for April; that she continues to gain strength and have happy days, and that her weight bearing continues and she is able to steadily take steps with the walker, and then with no support at all. She is happy now at SCH. She is well taken care of by Nagendram and is getting the food and resources she needs to reach her fullest potential. She has a team of staff and volunteers who love her and who support her. In this next year she will be getting prosthetic eyes to help her become more accepted in a community that shuns people who are different.

April changed my life. I have written those words on my blog countless times. She makes me a better person. She makes me more accepting of other people and makes me perservere when I want to give up. She brings me closer to the person I want to be. Knowing her marked a turning point in my life where my thoughts on the future, God, and love all shifted. She pushed me out of my comfort zone and towards a new path that is the one I am meant to be walking. I admire her strength, her ability to laugh when there is seemingly nothing to laugh about, and her bravery.


Happy birthday April! I love you!